Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Saran VD
Summary: SVU WICKED crossover. Before you pass over this fic, let me say that knowing SVU is not necessary.Nessa gets raped and Elphaba and 2 SVU detectives [Olivia and Elliot] try to figure out who did it. Nessa's character is book, Elphie's is musical
1. In the Beginning

It was a normal day in the Land of Oz. The sun was shining on the marshes of Quadling Country, causing them to glisten. Suddenly, a taxi came flying out of the sky into the front yard of a house. Inside were two detectives: Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler. Their driver was dead. Olivia rolled down the window, staring out at the quagmire that surrounded the taxi on all sides. Her face had an expression of disbelief and scorn as she turned to her partner.

"Where the heck are we, Elliot?" she asked.

"No idea, 'Liv," he said. "It looks pretty deserted around here."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that there isn't anyone to tell us where we ended up."

"Oh, and a house fell from the sky, too, huh?"

"Good point."

The swamp wasn't deserted; it was far from it. A 15-year-old girl was watching the strangers from her living room window. She looked out her window, smirking at the strangers as they wandered without a clue around her front yard. The girl laughed and called her 12-year-old sister to watch with her. They watched, enjoying the blundering of the new arrivals to their homeland, but when the man and woman started walking towards the front door, the girls rushed to hide. The doorbell rang.

"Fabala!" the girls' father yelled. "Answer the door!"

The older girl gulped and went to open the door, fear eating her from the inside out.

Olivia rang the doorbell, hoping that the people in this house weren't serial killers. The door opened a crack.A girl's voice called sweetly through the door. "Yes?" She sounded to be about 10 years old.

"It's Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler. May we come in?"

The door opened all the way, welcoming them inside. It seemed as if the door was opening by magic, but Olivia knew better than that.

Olivia grabbed Elliot's sleeve and dragged him into the house. She led him around the other side of the door, but then regretted her actions.

There was indeed a girl holding the door open. She was about 15, and the top of her head reached Olivia's shoulder. She had shiny black hair, a long pointed nose, and angular limbs. Her skin was a bright emerald green.

"Oh my God," Elliot said. Olivia looked at her in pity.

The girl walked out of her hiding place, walking briskly, as if she had someplace to rush to. "Nessa!" she called, "Come greet our guests!"

An old woman walked into the room, pushing a wheelchair. Sitting in the wheelchair was a young girl who looked to be about 12. She had brown hair, blue eyes, and a surprisingly serious expression on her face for a girl her age. She had no arms.

"May the Unnamed God bless you," said the girl.

"Nessa, Nanny, meet Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler. Detectives, this is my sister, Nessarose, and our Nanny," the green girl said, not giving her own name.

"Well, that's nice," said Olivia, trying hard to but failing to miserably- smile. "But…"

"…who the hell are you!" finished Elliot.

"Elphaba," the green girl said as quickly as possible. "I'd better go tell my dad who was at the door."

Elphaba stormed out of the room, desperately wanting to get away. She couldn't believe that of all places for these strangers to show up, they had to end up on _her_ doorstep. The world was determined to hate her, and she knew it. But as she tried to hide in the shelter of her room, her father, holding her little brother Shell's hand, stopped her in her tracks.

"Fabala, who was at the door?" he asked.

"Oh, just some detectives from another world that landed in our front yard in a taxi," she replied, "Nothing major."

"Well, I'm going to go greet them, OK." he said. It wasn't a question.

"You do that," Elphaba snapped. She had an even shorter temper than usual on that day. She stormed around her father and into her bedroom. She slammed the door, flopped down on the bed, and started humming a little song she had made up to calm herself down.

"Nessa, my pet!" Nessarose could've heard her father call her from a mile away.

"Yes, Father?" she replied sweetly as he strode into the room with Shell in his arms. Nessa made the introductions.

"May the Unnamed God bless you," said Frex (Elphaba and Nessa's father) the same way his youngest daughter did. Elliot rolled his eyes. "I've come to say something important. Nessarose Thropp," he started in a business-like way, "The time has come for you to make your pilgrimage to the Vinkus. Bring nothing with you, but Nanny may go as well since you can't get around otherwise. Leave now."

"Goodbye, Father," said the little girl.

"Goodbye, my pet," her father responded and gave her a little kiss on the cheek before Nanny wheeled her out the door.

Later, at dinner, Elphaba asked her Father where her sister was.

"The Vinkus," said Frex, "it's her time."

"WHAT!" Elphaba yelled, leaping from her seat. "Are you _crazy_? She could be killed! Nanny can't protect her, and she can't protect herself. She shouldn't have to go."

"My daughter has the Unnamed God on her side."

"The Unnamed God doesn't give a damn about my sister," she whispered darkly.

"If the Unnamed God didn't care, Fabala," he said softly, as if hurt, "then neither you nor Nessa would've lived this long."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "You make me _sick_, Father," she said, but she sat down and continued eating as if the whole conversation hadn't happened. She wasn't paying the least bit of attention as her Father gave Olivia and Elliot permission to stay with them. She was too busy worrying about her sister.

Her poor, helpless, sweet, pretty, always-perfect, spoiled-rotten little sister that she was secretly jealous of.


	2. Detective Thropp's First Case

**A/N: This is as bad as it's gonna get. If you think I should up the rating, please tell me.**

**Two Days Later…  
**Nessa stared at the fast retreating Winkies, wishing with all her soul that she could get up and give them a piece of her mind. "You go to hell!" she yelled weakly, but they were too far away to hear her. She rolled onto her stomach and threw up. She took a deep breath, then kept rolling until she was lying facedown on top of her dress. Oh, how she wished she could dress herself! But she had to wait for Nanny to regain consciousness first. She laid her head down and sobbed, unable to hold her tears in any longer.

"We're going home," she told Nanny as soon as she was dressed a few hours later. "I can't stay her another minute."

Nanny nodded sadly. "What will your father say?"

"I don't care!" wailed Nessa, on the verge of tears again. "I can't stay her another minute."

Nanny sighed. "You're making a mistake," she said, but pushed Nessa towards home anyway. A week after Nessarose's departure, the Thropp family got another knock on the door. Elphaba opened it, not bothering to hide this time.

"Nessa!" she exclaimed happily. "You're back! How many Winkies did you convert?"

Nessa didn't answer. She was silent as Nanny wheeled her into the house.

"Nessa!" cried Elphaba, showing some concern for her sister for the first time. "What's wrong! What happened!"

"Are the detectives still here?" asked Nessa. "I only want to tell the story once."

"Yes," said Elphaba, biting her lip, "we haven't figured out how to get rid of them yet, so they're in the spare bedroom. I'll get them for you." Elphaba ran up the stairs so fast that she appeared to be flying. "Olivia! Elliot! Nessa's back and she wants to talk to you!" The two detectives came rushing out of their room. "What were you doing last night?" Elphaba whispered as they walked past her. "You two woke me up at midnight. You were _moaning_." She smirked. Olivia rolled her eyes and Elliot clenched his fists. Elphaba took their moment of shock to bypass them on the stairs.

"I need your help," said Nessa as soon as everyone was downstairs, refusing to look anyone in the eye.

"What happened?" Olivia prompted gently, reminded of the traumatized girls she had to talk to back in New York.

"In the Vinkus, a couple of days ago, I met some Winkies. Five of them. They were all brothers. They seemed so nice, and Nanny and I made fast friends with them. But then," Nessa took a deep breath, "they knocked Nanny out, and then took me out of my wheelchair and laid me on the ground, stripped off my clothes, and…" She couldn't finish. She started crying. Elphaba ran and hugged her distressed sister, despite the tears that burned her skin.

"Did they rape you?" Olivia asked, bending onto one knee in front of the weeping girl's wheelchair. She nodded and wiped away her tears. Olivia looked meaningfully at Elliot, who let out a low whistle.

"Oz isn't what it used to be," he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Elphaba, letting go of her sister and turning to face him.

Suddenly, the detectives understood. _The Wizard of Oz_ hadn't happened yet, and _Wicked_ was in its beginnings. It was very strange, knowing the future of everyone in the room. "Nothing," said Elliot.

Elphaba stared at them both suspiciously for a moment- she had seen the dawning on their faces- then stood up. "I'll be in my room," she said, then ran upstairs.

Olivia watched her go. She signaled to Elliot to stay and comfort Nessa and followed the green girl upstairs. "Elphaba," she asked, knocking gently on the open door, "are you okay?"

Elphaba turned and stared at her. "No…" she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What's wrong?"

"I should've stopped Father from letting Nessa go. I _knew_ something bad was going to happen; I just _knew_ it!" A look of horror crossed her face. "_Father_!" she groaned, "What will he say?" Elphaba searched Olivia for an answer.

"I don't know," said Olivia kindly.

Elphaba flopped down onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow, but she didn't dare cry. Her skin was still irritated from Nessa's tears. "Why'd you follow me, anyway?" asked Elphaba without looking up.

"I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Well, you know, so why won't you leave?"

"If I leave, I tell Frex."

Elphaba turned so she was lying on her back, petrified with fear. "No!" she managed to croak. "Don't tell! He won't be any help!" Then, she smiled as a wonderful idea hit her. "_I'll_ help you. Please."

"Why should I?" blurted Olivia, stunned by Elphaba's sudden helpfulness.

"I know the Vinkus like the back of my hand," she said. "Father made me go when I was Nessa's age, and I stayed for almost a year."  
Olivia began considering it; Elphaba would be an asset if she and Elliot were to ever catch the men responsible for this. "Fine, as long as it's alright with your dad."

"I'll just tell him you're making a pilgrimage and that you'll need my help. We'll pretend I'm going to convert you to unionism."

"Then let's go, before they have any time to get too far away from us."


	3. A Close Call

**Later…  
**"How much farther will we have to walk?" complained Elliot after walking for about an hour.

"It's at least a day's journey," said Elphaba, who was at least ten yards ahead. "At least, it is if you walk fast. You two are walking like snails. Wait, that's not fair to the snails."

"Would you quit attacking us?" snapped Elliot. "That's all you've been doing since day one." But he started walking faster so that Olivia had to run to keep up.

"So, wait," said Olivia breathlessly, "we're going to walk at this speed for a day without stopping?"

"That's the plan."

Olivia stared at her. "Do you always walk everywhere?"

"Pretty much. We never leave The Land of the Froggy People. We're almost there, luckily for you sloths."

Olivia sighed with relief. Elliot started slowing down a little.

"That doesn't mean stop!" said Elphaba, exasperated. "Are all New Yorkers this slow?'

Elliot would've asked how she knew they were from New York, but he kept his mouth shut. After all, she was going to become one of the most famous witches of all time in a couple years.

"No," said Elliot, "we're normally fast walkers, but not for long distances. We hustle to the subway, or to catch a taxi, but we like to sit and rest our feet whenever possible."

Elphaba mumbled something that sounded like, "Lazy," but Elliot couldn't tell exactly what she had said. She stopped abruptly. "Welcome to the Vinkus," she said, turning sharply. "Residence of the Winkies, and- more likely than not- my sister's rapists. Onward friends!" She charged forward like a knight in a life or death battle.

Olivia and Elliot stared at her. Olivia reached for her partner's hand, and together they crossed into Winkie country. After setting up camp for the night, Elliot left to get firewood. The two women were left alone at the encampment.

"If any unidentified, assassin-type men start coming for us, run for it. They're the border guards, and they don't like women coming in here alone," Elphaba warned.

"Do you think they're the ones who raped Nessarose?"

Elphaba snorted. "Doubtful. They go after strong, tough women, not weak ones that can't transport themselves."

They sat in silence for half an hour –save Elphaba humming her little song. Then they heard footsteps and saw the shadows of five young men approaching. Elphaba sat up straight, but Olivia kept lounging, half asleep, as the men drew closer and closer. Elphaba gave her a pinch. As if she knew Olivia would scream, she clasped her hand over the detective's mouth.

"Shhhh…" she hissed. "Border guards."

Olivia nodded and shoved Elphaba's hand off of her face.

"Hello, ladies," said one of the men, who was clearly the leader, "I'm Kriss. How are you beautiful young women doing on this lovely evening?"

"Fine, thanks," said Olivia, immediately liking them. Elphaba remained stubbornly silent.

"Cat got your tongue, Peridot?" Kriss teased Elphaba.

Elphaba stayed still as a statue.

"A little fun should loosen you up," said the Winkie, peeling off his shirt.

Suddenly, without a warning, Elphaba shot up like a rocket. Before anyone realized what had happened, there was a loud SMACK and Kriss was holding his hand up to his stinging cheek.

"Stay away," she growled, "we can take care of ourselves."

Kriss and his gang stared at her. The seemingly delicate little plant had grown into a weed that threatened to destroy them forever. "Come on, guys," said the leader, "Peridot doesn't want us here." He turned to Olivia. "Sorry, Chicky." They turned and left.

"Well," said Elphaba, as if nothing had happened, "I think we've found our perps."


	4. Reality Check

"You're joking," said Olivia, staring at the teenager.

"No, I'm not."

"But- I- We- They-"

"He, she, it, you. Look, we've listed all the subject pronouns!" Elphaba said sarcastically.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Nerd."

"Idiot." Elphaba smirked.

"Well, how're we going to find them now?" complained Olivia. "We could've caught them!"

"Don't beat yourself up, Liv," said a voice from behind them. Olivia jumped about a yard into the air.

"'Lo, Elliot," said Elphaba calmly.

"You knew he was coming, didn't you?" Olivia asked suspiciously.

Elphaba's cheeks turned forest green (Olivia guessed that she was blushing), and she changed the subject. "Elliot, _I_ figured out who raped my sister."

Elliot was taken aback. "So soon?"

"Yeah, well, they paid us a little visit," Olivia mumbled.

Elliot's surprise was contorted to rage. "They didn't do anything to you, did they, Liv?"

Elphaba opened her mouth to say something, but Elliot didn't notice. He was too busy staring at his partner. Elphaba glared at him.

"We came close," Olivia replied.

Elphaba continued to glare at him, one hand on her hip, the other sticking straight up in the air. She cleared her throat.

"How're we- _what_ Elphaba?" he said, finally acknowledging her presence.

"I was going to say that Kriss _wanted things_ from me, but-"

"Kriss?" interrupted Elliot. "Who's Kriss?"

"But I smacked him and he backed off." Elphaba finished proudly.

"Would someone _please_ tell me who the hell Kriss is?"

"He's the leader of a gang of border guards," Olivia explained quickly.

"What-"

"Border guards are sexist bitches who consider it their duty to destroy the lives of all women in the Vinkus who venture outside without a man present," Elphaba spat.

Elliot looked at Olivia, then Elphaba, then back to Olivia. "She's lying, isn't she, Liv?"

Olivia shook her head.

Elliot rolled his eyes. "So we have to search this wasteland to find some guys you didn't get a good look at?"

"Now, that's not fair," Olivia said. "We got a good look at them. And anyway, if we see five twenty-year-old Winkies run away from Peridot here," she jerked her thumb at Elphaba, who grinned, "then we know it's them, don't we?"

"Yeah," piped Elphaba, "and I never forget a face that I smack."

Elliot didn't seem to hear her. "How can you be sure it's them, though?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. "I just said-"

"I wasn't asking you," Elliot snapped, "you little weed."

Elphaba turned away, determined not to let him see how much he had hurt her. She wasn't weak. She _couldn't be_ weak. 'Don't cry,' she thought, 'you can't, remember?' She threw back her shoulders and held her head high. If there was one thing her verdigris had taught her, it was to ignore people's nasty comments. She learned to be rubber that insults bounced off of.

But this stung. She hadn't thought that Elliot hated her _that_ much. She felt Olivia's hand on her shoulder, calming her down.

"Elphaba," asked the detective, "are you ok?"

Elphaba didn't say a word. She simply walked away from the camp. If they didn't want-or need- her, she would go.

Olivia stood, teary eyed, her hand still outstretched to where Elphaba's shoulder was as she watched the girl go. She had tried so hard to befriend this lost, aloof girl, and she failed. She watched until Elphaba became a green speck against the Western sky.


	5. The Wasteland

"Good," said Elliot, "she's gone."

"What!"

"_She's_ not breathing down our necks anymore, so we can do whatever we want." He moved closer to Olivia.

"Elliot!"

"She took you from me, the little devil. She changed you."

Olivia laughed. "You're _jealous_ of the Wicked Witch of the West?" Before she could protest, Elliot took her in his arms and kissed her full on the lips.

"She corrupted you," he crooned, "changed you."

Olivia tried to break free, but Elliot was holding her too tightly. "For the better! And Elliot, she's not what you think she is…"

"See what I mean? She's brought you closer to your wicked side."

"Elliot, you're crazy! Have you snorted anything lately?"

"You're the one who's crazy for thinking that!" He tried to kiss her again, but Olivia took a page out of Elphaba's book; she slapped him hard on the cheek. He was so stunned that he let go.

"I can't believe you! You aren't like this with the victims I befriend in New York!"

"You've never put this much effort in with them before."

Olivia knew that he was right about that. She did try harder to gain Elphaba's trust then she did with anyone else. And she had been _so close_.

Elphaba didn't know where she was headed. She stared at the horizon as she walked as fast as her legs could carry her. Suddenly, she heard someone crying to her left. She stopped in her tracks and turned towards the sound.

There was a little girl sitting about ten feet away from where Elphaba was standing. Her strawberry-blonde hair was tousled every which way. She was sitting (as Elphaba herself had done so many times) curled into a tight ball, trying to fold into herself and disappear. She had her head on her knees and was crying softly. Moved with pity, Elphaba walked towards the girl.

"Hey," said Elphaba, stooping in front of the girl the way Olivia had stooped in front of Nessa, "what's your name?"

The girl looked up, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw Elphaba. "Marina," she said.

"How old are you, Marina?"

"Ten," she said, "but who are you?"

Elphaba smiled. "My name is Elphaba Thropp, and I'm almost sixteen years old."

"Lucky!"

"So," said Elphaba, determined to get to the point, "why were you crying?"

The girl's face turned stony. "Some guys came. Five of them." Elphaba drew in her breath. "I was out on an errand for Mommy, but they were convinced that I was being bad. And I wasn't being bad, Elphaba, I _wasn't_!"

"You can't believe a word they say, Marina," said Elphaba soothingly, holding out her arms. Marina scooted closer and Elphaba hugged her.

"So they took off my clothes, and they took off their clothes, and then did things to me while the others took pictures."

Elphaba stared at her, aghast. Did they do that to Nessa, too?

"Then they threw my clothes at me, put theirs back on, and just _left_!" She started sobbing into Elphaba's shoulder, which was fortunately covered.

"Sh…" Elphaba crooned. "It'll be ok, don't cry." Then, a name crossed her mind. "Olivia," she whispered. "Come on, Marina," she said kindly, "I can take you to people who can help you."

"Really?" asked Marina, her face brightening.

"Really," said Elphaba, then stood and held out her hand to Marina. She took it, and Elphaba held the poor girl's tiny hand as they walked back to where Elphaba had come from.

"Olivia! Get over here!"

Olivia, who had been writing the evidence in the sand with a stick, looked up to see Elphaba running towards her holding Marina's hand. "What the-"

"Stop running so fast, Elphie!" the little girl whined. "I'm tired!" Elphaba scooped the girl up in her arms and ran like that the rest of the way.

"What's wrong?" asked Olivia.

"We've got another victim," Elphaba said softly, then put Marina down. "Don't you ever make me do that again," she scolded, "you're way too big to be carried."

Olivia looked at Elphaba. "How'd you find her?"

Elphaba grinned. "You make it seem as if I've found some sort of rare endangered Animal! But I'll tell you. I sort of ran into her. Not literally."

Marina giggled. "Good thing, too. You would've squished me!"

"No I wouldn't!"

"Yes you would!"

"No I-"

"Jeez! You would think _she's_ your little sister and not Nessa!" Olivia teased.

Elphaba glared at her.

"So, did they rape her, too?"

"I'm not sure," Elphaba admitted. "She said they quote, 'did things to her while the others took pictures,' unquote." She made air quotes with her fingers.

Olivia stared, horrified. "I have to tell Elliot," she murmured. Elphaba didn't protest, so Olivia went into one of the two tents.

"Who's she?" asked Marina, sitting down.

"That's my friend, Olivia Benson. She's trying to find some guys who did things to my little sister, Nessarose. _I_, at least, think that the guys who did that to you did the same thing to my sister."

"Welllllll…" said Marina thoughtfully, "I remember that they were brothers. And the oldest one, the one who did all the talking, his name was Kriss. And there was only one photographer. He looked like the only one who actually felt bad about what they were doing. I don't remember his name."

Elphaba sat next to her. "How many guys were there?"

"Five."

Elphaba stared at her. Then, as if on cue…

"WHAT!" Elliot roared, storming out of the tent.

'Olivia must've told him about Marina," Elphaba thought.

Elliot froze when he saw the strawberry-blonde sitting next to Elphaba. He walked over calmly and sat between the two girls. Elphaba simply got up and sat on the other side of Marina. "I'm Detective Stabler," said Elliot, "and Detective Benson told me that some scary things happened to you. Can you tell me about it?"

"Why don't you let her call you Elliot?" the green girl asked.

"Detective Stabler sounds more professional and businesslike," he retorted through gritted teeth.

"So she's just business to you?" exclaimed Elphaba, wrapping her arm around the girl's shoulder. Marina's bottom lip quivered.

"Shut up and let me do my job," muttered Elliot.

Elphaba shut up.

"Thank you. Olivia!" he hollered, and Olivia, who had been standing behind him, jumped. "I think we need to examine the little girl somewhere _without distractions_." He glanced meaningfully at Elphaba. Olivia nodded and took Marina's hand. She, Elliot, and Marina walked away.

Elphaba watched them go. She knew that if they hadn't left, they wouldn't accomplish anything. Still, she wished that they had stayed. She needed some company.

Luckily, she didn't have to look very far.


	6. Just for This Moment

"Who are you?" she asked the approaching 17-year-old Winkie.

"Name's Jonn," he said, gawking rudely at Elphaba.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"You know what I mean."

"I've never seen a green girl."

"Yeah, they're rare everywhere, aren't they?" said Elphaba, with her signature smirk on her face.

Jonn laughed. "True."

"So, why are you here?"

"I've been walking a while and I'm tired."

"_Sure_."

"Well, aren't you trusting?"

"You'd be like this, too, if you were looking for the serial rapists who went after your sister and an innocent 10-year-old girl," she defended.

"Is your sister part elf, too?"

"Neither of us are part elf, and no, Nessa is _not_ green."

"Who _are_ you?"

"Elphaba. Thropp Third Descending, if you want details."

"Not living up to your namesake, are you, Saint Aelphaba?"

"I've never been one for saints," she replied coolly. She stood up and swung her hair over her shoulder. She straightened her dress and looked up to find Jonn staring at her. "What?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Nothing," he said, but blushed scarlet.

Elphaba looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "I think that you're lying!" she said in a singsong voice.

He laughed and raised one of his eyebrows back at her. "Maybe I am."

Elphaba rolled her eyes and turned to face the setting sun. The wind whipped her hair around her face and her dress around her ankles. She smiled. This was her favorite time of day, when the sun cast vivid oranges and reds across the world. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist. She started. "_What_ are you doing, Jonn?"

"Sorry, it's just…" he paused. "You're so beautiful," he murmured in her ear.

Elphaba froze. She had never considered herself beautiful before. She thought she looked more like a tree, with her spindly limbs, pointy nose, and flat chest. And being green certainly didn't help. But Jonn sounded so sure when he called her that, so she couldn't help but trust him. She immediately fell, and fell _hard_, for this smooth-talking Winkie. She leaned her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and let a small smile play across her face.

About five minutes later, she heard Elliot yell something. She started and looked around. Jonn let go and stood beside her. "What the fuck?"

"Language!" teased Elphaba. Then, she saw three shadows walking towards them and her face fell. "You'd better go!"

"Why?"

"They're coming back, and Elliot considers all male Winkies suspects. Go!"

He nodded, pecked her on the cheek, and ran off in the opposite direction. She put her hand on her cheek and dreamily watched him go. So what if they saw her in her trance-like state? All she gave a damn about was her Winkie, just for that moment.


	7. I Trusted You!

**A/N: Italics are flashbacks...**

A week passed without anything unusual happening. Olivia and Elliot found no new victims (but that didn't mean that new victims weren't out there), Marina had no new bursts of memory (or, at least, none that she shared), and Elphaba's wandering mind kept fixing itself on Jonn (ok, maybe it _wasn't_ wandering).

One day, Elliot decided to leave the girls "alone" in camp. "I'll really be hiding nearby," he said. "I want to see those guys for myself."

Everyone agreed that this was the best plan, and it was carried out later that very day.

After being "alone" for about an hour, Kriss and his brothers returned to finish what they started. As soon as she saw them, Olivia stood up to face them while Marina hid behind her legs. Elphaba emerged from one of the tents as Kriss started talking.

"Hello, lovely ladies," he said, "I do believe we've met before."

Olivia grinned coyly and waved as if she was happy to see him. "Hi, Kriss."

Kriss stood there for about a minute as if expecting her to say more. "Oh, but haven't you met my brothers? This is Bertt, and Aarin, and Jeorge, and Jonn."

Elphaba's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No," she whispered.

Jonn looked at Elphaba, his eyes silently pleading with her. "Saint Aelphaba, forgive me!"

Elphaba stared at him, horrified. "I'm seeing things," she whispered, backing away. Olivia stared at her and even Marina peeked out to watch.

"Saint Aelphaba, I can explain-"

"I trusted you!" Elphaba screamed, her eyes sparkling with tears. "You were the first person I could ever trust! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Ah, Peridot," Kriss taunted, "you should've recognized my baby brother."

"Elphaba," said Olivia, "let him go…"

"You lied! You said I was beautiful!"

"No, my pretty saint, I didn't-"

"See, there you go again! Lying to me! I can't believe it!"

"No, Elphaba, it's not lying. It's looking at things another way."

Elphaba ignored him. She stormed into the tent and sat down curled into a tight ball, trying to fold into herself and disappear.

"I can't believe Elphaba didn't tell us about him," Olivia told Elliot an hour later.

"I can. My daughters never tell me anything."

"Even so…"

Elliot shook his head. "Look, Olivia, if it's bothering you this much, why don't you go talk to her?"

"I will."

When Olivia pulled back the flap of the tent, she saw Elphaba lying on her stomach resting her head in her arms. Olivia sat down next to her and put a hand on the teenager's shoulder. Elphaba's long black hair fell over her face like a veil when she looked up at Olivia, her eyes flooded with tears that hadn't overflowed. But Olivia noticed more than sadness in her eyes. For the first time, she saw the Wicked Witch of the West. She gasped.

"What?" snapped the girl, sitting upright with her legs extended in front of her.

"Jonn's out there," Olivia blurted out. "He wants to talk to you."

Elphaba stared at her. "Damn it!"

"What's wrong?"

"Tears," Elphaba explained, wiping her face with the hem of her dress. "They burn like hell." She got up and left the tent.

"Aelphaba!" said Jonn, relieved.

"Don't call me that," Elphaba said through clenched teeth.

"What's wrong?" he asked, walking towards her with his arms outstretched. She walked around him.

"Don't be stupid!"

"What'd I do?"

"What'd I say about being stupid?" But as hard as she tried, she couldn't stay mad. Her face broke into a wide grin.

"It's not my fault, Aelphaba! My brothers are control freaks!"

"_Sure_."

"No, really. All I am is a photographer."

Elphaba gawked at him. "So it was _you_."

He blushed. "Yeah. But I didn't want to! Kriss, he majored in sorcery at Shiz. Who knows what he would've done if I'd refused!"

"So you took pictures of him raping children?"

"I didn't want to! You don't know what it's like, none of you! Your own family, forcing you to use your talents in a way that you don't want to!"

Elphaba shook her head. "I do know…" she whispered.

_A six-year-old green girl walks next to her father. The girl stands proud, confident, while her father seems weary from a hard day's work. The father knocks on the door of a little mud house. A young Quadling opens the door. He reluctantly beckons the girl and her father inside. The father rants on about how the Unnamed God is merciful and kind and blah, blah, blah. Then he turns to his little girl and shoves her forward. She is screaming and crying._

"_NO! NO!"_

_But her father eventually manages to get the little girl calmed down. The girl takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and begins to sing. Her voice is sweet, perfectly in tune, and as she sings, the Quadling can hear an orchestra playing behind her. The song is an old Unionist hymn. As soon as the girl finishes singing, she turns away and buries her face in her father's shirt._

"_Never, never," she says. But her father ignores her. His daughter turns back around and watches her father continue to preach through solemn, knowing eyes._

Elphaba had to wipe her eyes again with the hem of her skirt as the memory overwhelmed her.


	8. No One Mourns the Wicked

"I wanna go home!" Marina pouted a couple days later. "I miss Mommy!"

Olivia and Elliot looked at each other. "You know the way home?" asked Olivia.

Marina nodded.

"Then go," said Elliot.

Marina grinned. "Tell Elphaba I said bye." She ran off.

"Where's Marina?" asked Elphaba later.

"On her way home," answered Elliot.

"ALONE! Did you forget what happened to her? Who's probably after her blood! You idiot!"

"What'd I do?"

"Remember? There's a gang of border guards after her guts."

"SHIT! You're right! What have I done?"

Olivia ran and threw her arms around his neck. "Shh…" she whispered.

"I've got to go find her," said Elphaba.

"I'll help," said Elliot.

"No, you stay here, Elliot," said Elphaba.

"Go then, if it's so important to you," said Elliot. "But come back here if you have any trouble."

Elphaba nodded and ran off.

After running for half an hour, Elphaba found Marina. The little girl was lying on her back with her eyes shut. Her limbs stuck out at odd angles, and blood was gushing from a fresh stab wound in her chest. She was dead.

"Marina!" Elphaba managed to choke out, and she rushed over to the body. She touched it. It was still warm. She heard something move to her left. She turned and stared. "What're _you_ doing here?"

Jonn turned quickly and hid the bloodstained knife behind his back. "Hi, Aelphaba."

Elphaba stared at him for another couple of seconds, then turned and ran back to the detectives as fast as her legs would carry her.

"What is it!" asked Olivia, alarmed.

Elphaba breathlessly pointed to where she had come from.

Olivia and Elliot stared, horrified, at the crime scene. But Elphaba wandered towards Jonn. After all, he _did_ treat her like a human, instead of an animal (or Animal) the way most people did.

He, too, was lying on the ground with his limbs sticking out at odd angles. He had slashes in both of his wrists.

"Not you, too," she whispered. First her mother, then Marina, and now Jonn. Why did everyone she could trust have to end up dead? She sat beside him, and while she was staring, she saw a folded piece of paper sticking out of his pocket. She unfolded it and began to read…

_My pretty Saint Aelphaba,_

_I couldn't live with the fact that I disappointed you. I never meant to hurt you, or Nessa, or Marina. I never did anything, I swear. I didn't want to be their photographer, either, but you know what Kriss would've done if I'd refused. I wish that I could start again._

_And just to clear the air, I ask forgiveness, for the things I've done you blame me for. In my mind, I died when Kriss started forcing me to take pictures for him._

_Let all Oz be agreed: I'm wicked through and through. Don't cry for me, Saint Aelphaba; it's a mercy that I'm dead. And anyway, no one mourns the wicked._

_All my love,_

_Jonn Shwortsman_

Elphaba closed her eyes, refolded the note, and slid it into her pocket.

"I mourn the wicked," she murmured, "even if no one else does."


End file.
